The 2012 Lincoln Zephyr has 3 recalls, all involving Takata airbag inflators on both the driver and passenger sides that can rupture and send metal fragments into the cabin, risking serious injury or death.
Both the driver-side and passenger-side frontal airbag inflators are affected. The driver-side inflator can degrade over time after prolonged exposure to heat and humidity, causing it to explode rather than inflate normally in a crash. The passenger-side recall applies specifically to vehicles originally sold or registered in high-humidity regions including Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, and several U.S. territories, where the same propellant degradation can cause the inflator to rupture. In either case, the airbag deploys with too much force and breaks apart, throwing sharp metal pieces toward the driver or passengers instead of cushioning them.